Monday, February 10, 2014

Cardinal recalls shock of Benedict XVI's resignation

One year later, Cardinal James Stafford reflects on the meeting where
Benedict XVI announced that he was stepping down as Bishop of Rome,
noting that it was an “unexpected” moment of “shock” for all.
“Total surprise, total shock,” was the experience of all those present
when they heard the Pope’s words that day, Cardinal Stafford explained
in a Feb. 7 interview with CNA.
On the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the Feb. 11, 2013
announcement of Benedict XVI’s resignation, Cardinal Stafford, President
Emeritus of the Pontifical Council of the Laity and Archbishop Emeritus
of Denver, CO, spoke of his experience at being in the room when the
pontiff revealed his decision.
Calling to mind the meeting where the announcement was made, the
cardinal revealed that “it took place at a consistory of the cardinals,”
which was “basically” a gathering of “the cardinals of Rome.”
The consistory meetings, he explained, were held regularly in order to
discuss “the presentation of those who were being beatified and
canonized within the Catholic Church.”
“So we were gathered in the room of the ‘consistorio,’ where we usually
gathered with the Holy Father,” the cardinal observed, noting that they
“were gathered around him in prayer” for the daily recitation of the
Liturgy of the Hours.
The Liturgy of the Hours is the official set of daily prayers prescribed
by the Catholic Church to be recited by clergy, religious institutes,
and the laity, and consist mainly of psalms, which are supplemented by
hymns and readings.
The cardinal also observed that there was “a presentation by the prefect
of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, of those that were to be
presented and voted upon that day, for beatification and canonization.”
All of this “took place without any eyebrow raising,” he expressed,
however “at the end of the prayer, “we were asked to sit down,” which
“was something unusual.”
“We all sat down, including the Holy Father, Pope Benedict, and a rather
extensive paper was brought up to him by his secretary to read.”
Originally, “I didn’t put any meaning upon all of that,” the cardinal
reflected, stating that “I just thought we would be having an adjunct,
that was somewhat unusual, but not very unusual,” but “within ten
seconds” he knew something was happening because the Pope was “speaking
in Latin, not in Italian.”
“I was alerted to the fact that it was about something very special by
the fact that he was speaking to us not in the usual language of
Italian, but in Latin,” Cardinal Stafford recalled, noting that the
pontiff had not spoken to them in Latin “in this setting” since “his
election,” so he thought “’I better listen in on this.’”
“So I listened very attentively, and very soon the words came out that
he was resigning,” the cardinal observed, “and he continued about the
reasons, but that came out within the first thirty seconds of his
address.”
Then they “concluded the celebration of the Liturgy of Hours,” he
explained, and Benedict XVI “left immediately, and we were left there
stunned.”
“A cardinal who was sitting next to me said, ‘Did he resign?’ I said,
‘yes, that’s what he did. He resigned.’ And we just all stood at our
places.”
Eventually “we came together in smaller groups, and began sharing some
of our reaction to it,” the cardinal said, adding that “It was totally
unexpected, and totally, historically, unexpected.”
When asked what he thought the legacy of this act and this time in the
Church would be, Cardinal Stafford responded that “I think it’s too
soon” to know.
Benedict XVI’s retirement officially went into effect on Feb. 28, 2013,
and was a conclusion he came to “after having repeatedly examined my
conscience before God,” he stated in his Feb. 11 address to the
cardinals.
Speaking of the reasons influencing his decision, the retired pontiff
cited his age as the primary factor, explaining that “I have come to the
certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer
suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.”
Only two other Pope’s have resigned from their post in the history of
the Church, the first being St. Celestine V in 1294, and the last was
Gregory VII, in 1415.
The retired pontiff is now living in the Vatican’s monastery “Mater
Ecclesiae,” which lies just west of St. Peter’s Basilica, and which
contains a chapel, a choir room, a library, a semi-basement, a terrace
and a visiting room that was added in 1993.